Packers confirm LSU-Wisconsin game at Lambeau Field in 2016

Packers confirm LSU-Wisconsin game at Lambeau Field in 2016

Tigers and Wisconsin are set to play in 2016 at Green Bay’s historic venue

The game, set for Sept. 3, 2016, was made official Friday after approval from the Wisconsin Board of Regents. The game is the second half of an agreement between LSU and Wisconsin to play a game at Reliant Stadium in Houston. That game will open the 2014 season for both teams Aug. 30.

“I’m very excited about this game, and I hope our fans are, too,” Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez said in a statement released by the Packers. “It is a tremendous opportunity to showcase our program, a great experience for our players to play in one of the most revered stadiums in the country and a terrific chance for our fans to see us play a quality opponent in the state of Wisconsin.”

The Packers will pay Wisconsin $3 million for the game, and the club will keep all game revenues, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. LSU athletic director Joe Alleva could not immediately be reached for comment Friday.

LSU’s 2016 online football schedule did not show the Wisconsin game Friday afternoon. The Tigers were scheduled to play Southern Mississippi on Sept. 3, 2016; the fate of that game is unknown.

The two-game deal satisfies long-held desires for LSU and Wisconsin to play in Houston and Green Bay. LSU officials for years have sought a game in Houston, home of LSU’s largest alumni base outside Louisiana and a fertile recruiting area for the Tigers. LSU hasn’t played in Houston since 1983.

Wisconsin will be playing a game at Lambeau Field for the first time.

“We’re honored to be able to host two storied college football programs at Lambeau Field,” Packers President/CEO Mark Murphy said, according to the club.

According to the Packers, the 2016 game will be just the fourth college contest played at 80,750-seat Lambeau Field, which opened in 1957.

The Tigers and Badgers have met only twice in football. LSU won 38-28 at Madison, Wis., in 1971 and 27-7 in Tiger Stadium in 1972.

In 2016, LSU is scheduled to play at Arizona State on Sept. 10 and host South Alabama on Oct. 15. The Southeastern Conference portion of LSU’s schedules past the 2014 season still has not been released as the SEC seeks to create a long-term scheduling format.